Recordings were obtained of the laughter vocalizations of four 3‐year‐old children during three sessions of spontaneous free‐play between mother and child in a laboratory playroom. Acoustic analysis was used to determine laughter durations, laughter events, F0, and harmonic characteristics, and to suggest a taxonomy of laughter types. Melodic contours were assessed from patterns of F0 change during laughter. Mean duration of laughs ranged from 200 ms to 2.0 s, but events within a laugh were usually about 200‐ms duration. Laughs were intuitively classified into four major types, and, following the acoustic analyses, were further defined and classified into types and subtypes of exclamatory and dull comment; chuckle; basic, variable, and classical rhythmical; and squeal. Melodic contours included more rising contours than previously reported for cry, but there was great variability in the types of contours produced especially for rhythmical laughs. The results of the acoustic analyses are discussed in relation to (a) the development of a taxonomy of laughter and (b) different features of the vocal affect characteristics of high‐intensity emotion.
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December 1993
December 01 1993
Vocal affect in three‐year‐olds: A quantitative acoustic analysis of child laughter
Evangeline E. Nwokah;
Evangeline E. Nwokah
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
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Patricia Davies;
Patricia Davies
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
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Asad Islam;
Asad Islam
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
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Hui‐Chin Hsu;
Hui‐Chin Hsu
Department of Psychology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27706
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Alan Fogel
Alan Fogel
Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
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J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 94, 3076–3090 (1993)
Article history
Received:
June 10 1992
Accepted:
August 16 1993
Citation
Evangeline E. Nwokah, Patricia Davies, Asad Islam, Hui‐Chin Hsu, Alan Fogel; Vocal affect in three‐year‐olds: A quantitative acoustic analysis of child laughter. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 December 1993; 94 (6): 3076–3090. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.407242
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